While at the Author Expo (NEAE) in Danvers, MA, yesterday, I encountered a LOT of authors and illustrators, a mythical fey creature, and three wizards.

And those three wizards wouldn’t stop staring at me, like I was one of the Dark Lord’s minions.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry Preparing to do battle with Author, Kristina Schram

Look at that stink-eye they’re giving me!

But by the end of the expo, I convinced them I wasn’t evil and we became friends. Sort of…

Happier times with Harry and those other two…

I made new contacts and did a fun, brief interview about monsters with Christopher Ouellette for an upcoming podcast for bestselling author, Jeremy Robinson’s Beware of Monsters, which I’ll link you to when it comes out. To top it off, I developed a new story idea for a paranormal gothic romance. I think my new wizard friends were helping me out. It pays to have wizard friends, don’t you think?!

I’ll be in the Garden Terrace Ballroom with my 11 books – two YA fantasy series (The Chronicles of Anaedor and The Forest Immortal Saga), two paranormal gothic romances, and two Pandora Belfry Adventure books. Oh, and I’ll have free book markers, too!

My latest trilogy series, the Forest Immortal Saga, stars three brothers, a dark woods, and a secret. The more you get to know me, the more you’ll see that I have a thing for dark woods. And for magic and the paranormal. And for all things Native American/Indian. And for caves. And for waterfalls, too.

One of the settings in Oswald’s Revenge (Book Two of the FIS) has a number of these elements all gathered together in one location. The area-it’s a hideout-is set in a large ravine with a rock-strewn river, numerous waterfalls, several caves, and giant boulders perfect for climbing. Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves in New Hampshire served as the inspiration for the hideout and it is gorge-ous!

The word bedlam (uproar, confusion) comes from the nickname given to Bethlehem Royal Hospital, an insane asylum that once had a horrible reputation. It’s also the name of the town in the Pandora Belfry Adventures series.

First off, I’m a writer of paranormal gothic romances, so it’s pretty obvious I love all things spooky and strange. Lately I’ve been posting photos on my Facebook and Twitter sites relating to the paranormal, romantic, gothic, and the haunted. I thought I’d like to do a little more from the paranormal angle so I tried coming up with ideas on what to post.

It wasn’t hard. Having lived in New England for 17 years now, I’ve noticed this area has a LOT of graveyards. Just within a couple miles of our house, there are five that I know about. Our yard even has one! Believe it or not, that was a selling point in its favor when we bought the house.

So I grabbed my cell phone and traveled to the various graveyards, five in all. I took numerous photographs of gravestones, stone entryways and walls, wrought-iron gates, and the like. It was a nice time – graveyards are so peaceful – and I looked forward to going to others another day.

About Kristina

Kristina Schram is the author of eleven novels and one novella. She writes paranormal gothic romance, YA fantasy, and YA outré. She loves the dark, the macabre, and the psychology of everything. Feel free to wander around her site - though in doing so, be prepared to encounter various forms of mischief, mystery, and magic!